FAQs

The existing streetlights are now at the end of their specified life and in order to maintain the reliability of the street lighting service the existing lights need to be replaced anyway, so this is a once-in-twenty-year opportunity to upgrade the lights.

The Northern Lights Project commences in February 2017. It will occur as one continuous installation and is expected to be completed the end of financial year 2017/2018. For a project of this size, specific works schedules are developed on a week-by-week basis. Weather and other contributing factors can result in delays.

During the project, around 9,089 street lights will be replaced with energy efficient and better quality alternatives. Light levels will be made more consistent across the area, complying with Australian Standards for lighting. The project will involve Pedestrian Category lighting only.

Generally councils are funding the bulk change project themselves (City of Launceston has received some funding from the Roads to Recovery Program for 2016/2017). By participating in this regional scale project significant money has been saved on project management costs and through bulk procurement at a scale that wouldn’t otherwise have been possible, especially for smaller, regional councils.

The changeover of a street lights involves a single elevated work platform with two to three crew members. It takes less than 5 minutes to replace a street light so any disruptions to traffic flow in your street should not last long. Resident’s and visitor’s cars can remain parked on streets. Works are expected to take place on weekdays.

TasNetworks are responsible for engaging contractors to install the lights. They will be liaising with Council throughout the project. Lights will be installed by a number of contractors, including ETS Electrical Services, Lend Lease and possibly one other.

The LED lighting system is the most energy efficient lighting available that have been approved by TasNetworks, the distribution company that owns the lighting infrastructure.

The lights have been tested to ensure they meet relevant Australian Standards in regards to safety and light levels. Trial results throughout Melbourne and Hobart have demonstrated that they have superior performance to the existing lights.

There is no electricity spike when street lights are turned on. This is similar to the myth regarding residential lights – i.e. that there is such a large spike at the start that if you’re leaving the room you should keep lights on. There is no large spike. This is easy to test and prove with simple power monitors.

Yes! The recycling of old lights that are taken down during a bulk change is the responsibility of the installer. The tender for installation of the lights specified waste disposal requirements which includes the recycling of around 98% of the old lights. For example, the glass collected is recycled into products such as glass wool insulation for homes. The mercury is distilled and reused in the dental industry to manufacture amalgam. The aluminium body and other fixed components (for example, steel screws, copper wires) are collected and ends up as ingots used in industry.

If you are seeking more information about the project please visit the Contact Page of the website where you can enter your query into an online form. Contact details for each council involved in the Northern Lights Project are also provided on the Contact Page.